A YOUNG woman whose life was saved by a smear test said she celebrated being cancer-free by getting married.

Janet Sorvel was diagnosed with cervical cancer when she was just 27, following the routine screening.

Within weeks she was operated on and, after more than a month of waiting nervously, she was told doctors had managed to remove all the cancerous cells.

Janet was so pleased she and her fiancé left the hospital and booked their wedding straight away.

Now, five years after being given the all-clear, she urged other women to keep their smear test appointments as part of NHS Merseyside’s Year Of Action On Cancer.

Janet, 33, of Widnes, said: “I had received a letter from my doctor when I turned 25 inviting me to go in and have a smear test but I just kept putting it off.

“A couple of years later, I finally got round to booking the appointment. I thought the test would be the end of it but four weeks later I got a letter in the post to say my results were abnormal.

“After a colposcopy examination at Warrington hospital, I was told I had early signs of cancer.

“My initial reaction was pure shock but the doctors were extremely positive.

“I was referred to Liverpool Women’s Hospital and started the treatment process straight away.

“Initially I had an MRI scan at Clatterbridge.

“When the results came in the doctors could see no signs of spreading, but I still needed further tests.

“Unfortunately, the results were not as positive as I hoped, and the doctors were concerned at how quickly the cancer seemed to be growing.

“I thought my only option would be to have a hysterectomy and because I have not yet had children that was quite a scary prospect.

“But luckily I was offered a relatively new treatment called a radical trachelectomy, which leaves patients with a 50% chance of conceiving.

“After five nervous weeks of waiting for my results, I was given the fantastic news that they managed to remove all the cancerous cells and I was told I had a very positive outlook.

“I was over the moon. My fiancé and I left the hospital and went straight to book our wedding. I could not have thought of a better way to celebrate. We married a year later in 2008 and had a fantastic day with the whole family.”

Janet is not the only member of her family to have been touched by cancer. Her dad was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2010 and died 10 weeks later at 62.

Janet added: “If you are at all worried, please go and see your GP – catching the disease at its early stages makes it more treatable and could save your life.

“My smear test really did save my life, so I would urge anyone not to put it off.”

The incidence of cervical cancer is higher in Liverpool than the UK average and it is the 11th most common cancer among women in the UK.

NHS Merseyside is raising awareness of cervical cancer as part of the Year Of Action On Cancer, which was launched earlier this year by NHS Merseyside with NHS Cheshire Warrington and Wirral at the Liverpool Cancer Research UK Centre.